Flawed and Clumsy
by Bloody Words
Summary: When L died, Light thought his trouble was over. But he didn't expect a group of borderline criminals to start opposing him, led by a man who called himself Beyond Birthday. With the twist in fate where L never felt the need to have successors, and the children were left untainted by the pressure, it's a whole other story to be told.


Prologue

It was a beautiful day when everyone at Wammy's House learned that its beloved founder had died. He was a good man straight and through, no doubt about that, so the heart attack he suffered was never once considered by those of the outside world to be the work of Kira. But the children knew better. They hoped with all their hearts that Wammy had died protecting L, and that L was still alive. If L was still among the living, things would be alright. Not okay, but they'd be able to live on with some sense of hope.

That 'beautiful day' never ended, even during his funeral. They could only wait for the text that would tell of L's death, or if it didn't come within a month, give them a renewed feeling of hope. The children tried to keep themselves distracted, and kept on doing the things that made them most happy. It was only an illusion, but it wasn't until Orion announced to everyone that he didn't even have the motivation to hunt fairies, which he had been convinced all his life existed, that they decided that they couldn't go on like this.

They loved L. They loved Wammy. And their love for them was still strong. Wammy had given them all a home when they had no where else to go and was like a father or grandfather to each and everyone of them. L had been a big brother to them, motivating them to follow their own paths, even though he most likely did not realize it. It was through his obvious devotion to his cases that inspired the kids to be more than just _Genius Orphans_. They could do what ever they wanted, and no one but themselves would have a say in the matter.

Aim would one day become an elementary school teacher, Backfire would prove his worth to the world, Mello would become a successful writer, Linda would be a professional artist, Matt would lase around with a minimum wage job, Near would be an architect, and so many others were determined to make their dreams and hopes a reality. But it didn't seem like that would happen. It was exactly a month after the death of Wammy that Roger received the automated text confirming L's death.

"No!" Backfire was the first to react among the group that Roger had gathered in the only place that the fifty two children, as well as the young adults that had chose to stay a the House, could fit in at once - the yard. Various care takers and workers watched from a distance away, sympathy clear in their faces.

"No, he can't be gone..."

Time had stopped then, as had the minds of all those who heard the news. No one, not even Backfire after his initial reaction, made a sound. The Children of the House finally lost hope for true justice in the world. There was no one to stop Kira now. Kira would rein in power and pride for the remaining years of his life, and no doubt someone would take over for him when it was all over. They couldn't do anything to stop Kira, as they all had little to no investigating skills.

There really was no hope.

* * *

No one slept that night. No one could after hearing the news. Roger nor any of the older adults expected that they'd do much of anything for a long time. Roger knew what it was like to lose faith in everything he believed in. And he too had lost everything, something none of the students seemed to realize. Quillish had been his best friend ever since he was young, and it was devastating to lose him in such a way.

After his chilling announcement, Roger had locked himself in his office, and took to looking through at the photo albums that he had of him and Quillish. Many of them contained a younger L as well, even though Quillish had advised that all photos of L were to be destroyed. He couldn't bare to, as L had been on of the few children that he ever actually liked. He missed them both dearly.

There was a knock at his door in the middle of the night, tearing him away from the photo album that currently sat in front of him. He felt like ignoring the knocker; if they wanted to be comforted, they could go to one of the caretakers. There was a more rapid knock seconds later, and Roger began to grow annoyed. Then the knocker actually called out to him through the door.

"Roger! Please let me in. I really need to talk to you."

He recognized the pain in the voice before he figured out who it was speaking. He got up from his desk and crossed the room, not knowing what he would say. He undid the lock on the door and opened it up to reveal the twenty year old who had seen better days. Backfire looked older than he ever had before, and the young man already appeared years beyond his true age. His eyes seemed the oldest of all, as they had seen more than any one should have.

"Come in, please. Let us talk." Roger moved out of the way to let the raven haired boy in. Backfire shuffled in, hunched over and avoiding looking at Roger directly, as he did with all people. Roger couldn't blame him, as he knew of the curse Backfire possessed. He knew that Backfire wasn't crazy when he claimed he knew when people would die just by looking at them, as L had tested the ability out when he was a child. Death Eyes, they had started to call them. Not even L had been exactly able to figure out how he had been born with such a curse.

As soon as the door was closed and locked once more, Backfire began to chuckle, which Roger didn't dare question. Just because Backfire wasn't crazy for saying he had eyes that could see death, it didn't mean he wasn't crazy for other reasons. He had proved that years ago when he had tried to kill Aim, claiming that he wanted to 'test a theory' that he had. Aim still had the scars and still refused to forgive Backfire for what he had done, something that both had came to resent over the years since that day.

Backfire's sharp chuckling stopped just as quick as it as started, sudden, but not surprising at all. He turned to look at Roger, keeping his head low enough that he wouldn't be able to see the numbers floating above the old man's head, which he could only do by continuing to stay hunched over. A forced smile appeared on his face as he spoke.

"L should have lived for so much longer. Kira had no right to end his life so long before his time." He clenched his fists, but still the smile remained. "Just like I had no right to try and end Aim's life just to see if it was possible for someone to end someone's life before their time." He put his hands in his pocket, and his smile became genuine. "He can't be dead, because he's Lawsford Lawliet. The greatest detective to have ever lived, real or fictional." His eyes suddenly darkened and he looked away. Roger thought that he had seen his lifespan by accident, but was dumbfounded when a sob escaped Backfire's lips. He had never heard the young man make such a sound in all the time that he had lived at he House.

"L wasn't supposed to become another person that left me without saying goodbye." He whispered, his smile finally falling, with no sign it had been there in the first place. Roger didn't dare approach him, knowing that Backfire could be worse than Mello when it came to suddenly changing emotion. "He always told me he would call me if he was about to die, and I never got such a call."

"It is quite possible he hadn't expected his death at the time, and never thought he would need to call you." Roger knew that he had made a mistake the moment the words left his mouth. Backfire's back straightened and he turned to face him, and Roger could tell that he was looking at his lifespan. He tried to apologize, but Backfire's gaze made it so no words could leave his mouth.

"L knew everything. He saw his death coming, yet he did not call! I always knew he only saw me as another mystery to solve." Backfire reached for the door's handle, still watching Roger. "Don't worry, I'm not mad at you. But don't ever say again that he didn't know." He undid the lock and opened the door. It was only then that he looked away from Roger and left the room, leaving the aged man never knowing what he had wanted to talk about. "I'm so glad that you don't have long left. I'll deal with this all myself, and I won't ask for permission. Thanks for nothing!" The door was slammed, shaking the room.

Roger sighed and shook his head, knowing that neither Roger himself or Backfire would ever learn. Backfire was a ticking time bomb, and he knew that if more pressure had been applied when the young man was still a boy, he would have already snapped beyond repair. Roger could see that the day that he would snap was faster approaching than ever. He just hoped than no one got too hurt when it did happen.

* * *

Backfire had a goal, that Roger would no longer be involved in. While none of the children had investigating skills anywhere close to L's, they did have their own talents, which he would make them realize. Kira would never expect people such as them to fight back, or anyone at all after defeating such an opponent as L. He wouldn't see it coming.

As well, almost all written and electronic records of their existence were erased and destroyed the moment that they agreed to live at Wammy's House, so if Kira needed a face and a name, he would have a hard time getting a lot of them, unless he met one of the children in person and they foolishly told him their name. And they had all the money they needed to fund their exploits, thanks to Wammy's famous inventions and the money L collected from solving cases.

They would defeat Kira in honer of L, and for the world. All Backfire needed to do was convince about five dozen geniuses that it was right to go up against the most powerful person of the century, with a little bit of manipulation.

The fight wasn't over. It was _far _from over.

* * *

**I will not feature five dozen OCs in this, as that would just be stupid. The canon characters will be the main characters, and everyone else are just characters to move the plot forward. **


End file.
